I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 161



Only Noblemtl

EP.161 The Italian War (7)

The United States was considerably hesitant to advance north of the military demarcation line.

“If we advance north, the communists will probably go into a rage. Do you think advancing north is the right choice?”

“There is nothing I can guarantee, Your Majesty.”

Washington agonized over whether to escalate the war in Italy.

“First of all, crossing the military demarcation line is a political issue, so please do not make arbitrary judgments on the spot.”

Because of this, he even gave instructions to General Eisenhower not to arbitrarily cross the military demarcation line.

But Washington had no need to dwell on useless worries.

Because Rome made the decisions for them.

“They say the Allied Forces are hesitating to advance north.”

“What does it matter if they hesitate? Just keep going north.”

Upon his return to Rome, King Umberto II pushed forward strongly to restore the kingdom and prestige that his father had ruined.

Prime Minister Bonomi also had similar thoughts to the King.

‘If not this time, there will be no chance for unification. Since the country has become a battlefield, we have to end it.’

On September 19, Italian forces broke through the military demarcation line and began advancing northward into northern Italian territory.

“Advance north and unify!”

“This is correct.”

The Allied High Command realized this fact too late.

Eisenhower was furious.

“No, what if you guys decide such an important matter on your own? We have the authority to command the Allied Forces.”

“It appears that the front-line units have taken an impulsive action out of a sense of resonance. I apologize, Your Excellency.”

Rome made a series of ridiculous excuses when faced with fierce protests from the Allied High Command.

“Who would believe such nonsense?”

The Western Allies did not believe the Italian government’s excuses.

But the action has already happened.

The Italian army had already begun the race towards Venice.

The Allies had no choice.

‘If the Italians go up and get destroyed, we’ll have to cover the entire front line. It’s unavoidable.’

After discussion, Eisenhower and Washington ordered the Allied forces to advance north.

“Go north.”

On September 20, as the Allied forces began to advance north, the Italian People’s Republic decided to hold Grieco accountable.

“I hereby submit a motion of impeachment against Comrade Grieco, holding him responsible for this war.”

The Supreme Council of the Italian Communist Party withdrew its confidence in Grieco.

Instead of making excuses, Grieco offered his resignation.

“I apologize, comrades. I made a serious mistake. I have caused great harm to the Party and the country.”

“It is only now that I realize this that I have failed, Comrade.”

As soon as Grieco stepped down as secretary, he went into exile in Moscow.

There was nothing I could do if I stayed in Italy anyway.

“Comrade Longo, please take the position of Secretary-General.”

The position of Secretary General of the Italian Communist Party was taken over by Luigi Longo, who was deputy commander of the People’s Army.

In this way, the Italian People’s Republic regrouped under new leadership.

But the battle situation did not suddenly improve, whether or not the camp was reorganized.

The People’s Army, whose main force was already trapped in the south, had no ability to stop the Allied advance.

Longo attempted a delaying battle, but was helpless in the face of the overwhelming power of the Allied forces.

On September 25, the leading Allied forces captured the central city of Florence.

Longo was shocked when he heard of the fall of Florence.

“No, Florence has already fallen?”

“It happened in the morning. The real enemy is probably further north.”

Now even Bologna, the capital of the republic, was in danger.

“There is no choice. If we do not move the capital, our republic will end here.”

“Comrade Secretary, it would be better to endure the humiliation for a while and escape to the north. We cannot accept the destruction of the socialist fatherland here.”

The Italian People’s Republic hastily moved its capital north to Venice before the Allied forces could get any closer.

But Venice wasn’t entirely safe.

On the day the People’s Republic moved its capital to Venice, a large force of bombers attacked Venice.

The expressions on the faces of the Communist Party cadres gathered in the dark bunker were extremely dark.

If things continued this way, the republic would be destroyed in less than a month.

“Comrade Secretary, is there no support from Moscow? It was they who tricked us into going to war.”

Longo also wanted to say that to Moscow.

But the one in the lead right now was Moscow.

“Just wait. Comrade Stalin won’t just abandon us.”

Longoro had no choice but to hold out hope.

If Stalin understood the strategic value of Italy, he would certainly take action.

The expectations of the Italian People’s Republic were soon met with acknowledgment.

In fact, Moscow could not stand by and let Northern Italy completely perish.

Northern Italy was of high geopolitical value, and there was a risk that if they instigated a war and stood by to see the alliance collapse, they would lose the trust of other communist countries.

The Moscow leadership debated for some time over the form of the war.

“We need to deploy our own troops. If we deploy about a million troops, wouldn’t we be able to push the front back in one go?”

Stalin rejected Zhukov’s plan.

Deploying Soviet troops could have turned the tide of the war, but doing so would have brought us into a situation of direct confrontation with the West.

It was a story that did not appeal to the Secretary-General’s taste for a moderate level of proxy warfare in Italy.

Soviet officials and generals weighed Stalin’s thinking and put forward various suggestions.

After much discussion, the Soviet leadership reached the following conclusion:

First, there should be no direct intervention.

Intervention had to be indirect.

Second, the size of the military force to intervene must be less than 500,000.

If you deploy too many troops, the scale of the proxy war will become too large.

If that were to happen, there was concern that the scale of the war of attrition would become unmanageable.

Third, the purpose of the expedition is to preserve the Northern Italian People’s Republic.

An unreasonable goal such as the unification of the Italian peninsula was not initially proposed.

Given the resolve shown by the United States this time, that goal was absolutely impossible to achieve.

Fourth, command must be seized by the Soviet Union.

Only then could the Soviet Union decide when to end the war.

Once the guidelines were in place, Moscow quickly moved into action.

On September 30, when the Allies captured Bologna, Eastern Europe responded.

“An international legion of volunteers is being assembled to help our communist brothers.”

The West thought, what the hell is this? But it wasn’t long before they learned the truth and were shocked.

“No, are these guys crazy? What kind of volunteer army is this!”

A heavily armed intervention force of 300,000 soldiers, including Soviet-made tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled guns, crossed the Yugoslav border and entered northern Italy.

They called it a volunteer army, but in reality it was an army sent to attack by switching the affiliations of Eastern European satellite countries and the regular army of the Soviet Union.

“Oh, we are the volunteers, the International Legion! Didn’t you see them during the Spanish Civil War?”

“Don’t misunderstand, we are kind young people who came to help the Italian people.”

The Western world was speechless at this shameless excuse.

“Is this the class of commies? You should tell lies with some sincerity. Who would fall for something like that?”

However, if they were not fooled, they would have no choice but to go to all-out war.

The West, crying and eating mustard, tried hard to ignore the participation of the ‘People’s Volunteer Army, International Corps’ in the war.

Soviet intervention did not stop there.

The Red Air Force doubled the number of fighter aircraft it had previously deployed.

“Where, are you going to bomb Venice again?”

As the Soviet Air Force’s challenge intensified, Allied bombers were no longer able to fly the skies as freely as before over northern Italy.

As the size of the communist army doubled and the supply line grew longer, the Allied advance began to slow rapidly.

General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, concluded that it would be difficult to capture northern Italy before the winter cold set in.

“This war will last at least a year.”

Allied commanders agreed with this view.

Only one group refused to accept the prolongation of the war.

“So, when will Venice be taken?”

The Italian government, believing that the war could be ended within the year, constantly pressed the Allies to capture Venice.

“You foolish Romans are talking nonsense. If you spared our lives, we should be grateful. Stop telling us to keep bleeding.”

Frontline Western commanders, including Eighth Army Commander Walker, were cynical about the Italians’ call to advance north.

The Western Allies had no intention of advancing north any further.

They began digging deep trenches along the front lines in preparation for a protracted war.

Yet the Kingdom of Italy refused to accept reality.

“Keep attacking! We must finish off the Reds now that they are exhausted!”

“Your Majesty, is this attack really correct?”

“There is no right or wrong in unifying the country. It is a total offensive. We must break through the reds’ defense line!”

Italian generals ordered a ground offensive, but it was impossible for Italy to end the war on its own.

The Italian soldiers were repeatedly repulsed by the entrenched communist forces, suffering heavy casualties.

The communist forces’ morale was boosted by the sight of the Italian army’s disorganized attacks.

‘I heard this is a difficult war, but it’s easier than I thought.’

Several Italian offensives ultimately ended in failure.

“Hey, you idiots, listen to me. Those guys haven’t changed since World War II.”

The Italian War was now entering a protracted phase.